A conversation with former 
Republican Congressmen 
Mike Rogers and Dave Camp

» Hosted by Joe Schwarz, former U.S. Congressman and Visiting Lecturer

Mental health: Personal 
and policy perspectives

» Moderated by Professor Paula Lantz

MICHELLE RIBA, MD

SHERVIN ASSARI, MD, MPH

NANCY BAUM, PHD 

TRISH CORTES, RN, MS

Wednesday, September 27, 2017 
4:00-5:30 PM

Free and open to the public. Reception to follow. 

Info: fspp-events@umich.edu 

fordschool.umich.edu

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall

735 S. State Street

Follow us: @fordschool

Join the conversation: #policytalks

This event is made possible in part through the generous support of 
the Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund.
In complement to the September performances of “Every Brilliant Thing,” 
visit ums.org/performance/every-brilliant-thing for tickets

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
September 25, 2017 — 3B

The good, bad and ugly: Purdue

If you were looking for drama 

on Saturday, West Lafayette was 
the place for you.

Trailing by three until the end 

of the third quarter, the Michigan 
football team was staring down 
the barrel at an upset in Ross-Ade 
Stadium. But behind a redemption 
story from John O’Korn that is oft 
reserved for movies, the eighth-
ranked Wolverines managed to 
pull away and not look back.

Michigan 
escaped 
Purdue 

with a conference-opening win, 
and is now entering its bye week 
undefeated with Michigan State 
as the next team on the docket.

The Daily breaks down the 

good, the bad and the ugly from 
Saturday’s game.

The good

There was a lot to like about 

the 
Wolverines’ 
road 
trip. 

O’Korn finally had his day, the 
defense had yet another standout 
performance 
and 
Michigan’s 

tight ends — redshirt sophomore 
Zach Gentry and sophomore 
Sean 
McKeon 
— 
solidified 

themselves as reliable options in 
the Wolverine passing attack.

Michigan’s 
fifth-year 
senior 

quarterback seized his moment 
after being thrust into a tense game 
following Wilton Speight’s exit. 
He was perfect on his first drive, 
completing all five of his passes for 
61 yards before finding Gentry for 
a touchdown, and ended the game 
with 270 yards and a touchdown 
on 18-of-26 passing. He did have 
an interception, but it was more so 
the product of an unlucky bounce 
on a catchable ball than a poor 
decision.

More than anything, O’Korn 

helped the Wolverines exorcise 
their demons in the red zone — 
converting on every trip — and 
he connected on a number of 
difficult throws throughout the 
matchup with the Boilermakers. 
Speight, on the other hand, 
entered the matchup 1-of-17 in the 
red zone.

Gentry and McKeon proved to 

be O’Korn’s fail-safes, as the duo 
finished as Michigan’s top two 

receivers. McKeon finished with 
five catches for 82 yards, while 
Gentry recorded three catches for 
48 yards and the Wolverines’ lone 
receiving touchdown.

There were concerns about 

who would replace freshman 
wide 
receiver 
Tarik 
Black’s 

production, but McKeon and 
Gentry left the Michigan faithful 
with a sense of relief for now.

And of course, Michigan’s 

stout defensive unit had another 
hallmark day. Purdue — an 
offense brimming with trickery 
— managed to score 10 points in 
the first half while racking up 179 
yards, but the Wolverines held 
the Boilermakers scoreless with 
just 10 yards in the second half.

The performance catapulted 

Michigan to the top of the team 
defense rankings, as the unit is 
surrendering an average of 203.3 
yards per game.

Not 
to 
be 
overlooked, 

sophomore 
running 
back 

Chris Evans finally had the 
performance that many were 
waiting for. He finished the game 
with two touchdowns and 97 
yards, highlighted by a 49-yard 
touchdown run in the fourth 
quarter that effectively ended the 
contest for good.

The bad

Michigan 
is 
beginning 
to 

show an affinity for turning the 
ball over, as the Wolverines have 
forfeited possession seven times 
through four games.

With just under 10 minutes 

remaining in the third quarter, 
O’Korn completed a pass to 
sophomore running back Karan 
Higdon for an 11-yard gain.

The 
positive 
yardage 
was 

canceled 
out, 
however, 
by 

Higdon’s 
ensuing 
fumble. 

Linebacker Danny Ezechukwu 
recovered the ball at Purdue’s 
37-yard 
line. 
Though 
the 

Boilermakers 
didn’t 
manage 

to capitalize on the mistake — 
Purdue went three-and-out — it 
was still a dangerous moment 
given that the Wolverines trailed, 
10-7, at the time.

The fumble opened up the door 

for Evans’ breakout performance, 
however, as Higdon did not 

receive a carry for the rest of the 
game.

The second turnover came 

earlier in the game, with just over 
eight minutes remaining in the 
second quarter. O’Korn’s pass to 
junior wide receiver Grant Perry 
was picked off by Navon Mosley 
and returned seven yards to 
Michigan’s 27-yard line.

The Wolverines’ defense bailed 

them out, though, forcing Purdue 
to settle for a field goal. Again, 
the interception was not really 
O’Korn’s fault, as it bounced off 
Perry’s hands.

Still, while no team has been 

able to truly make Michigan pay 
for turning the ball over, that can 
only last so long.

The ugly

It didn’t take long for Michigan 

to hit a low point against Purdue. 
Midway through the first quarter, 
redshirt 
junior 
quarterback 

Wilton Speight was sacked by 
linebacker Markus Bailey for an 
11-yard loss before absorbing a 
second hit that crunched his neck 
and ended his day.

It was a scary moment in 

West Lafayette, as Speight laid 
motionless on the ground before 
gingerly walking off the field with 
the help of trainers.

He needed to leave the field to 

receive X-rays and never returned 
to the game.

While there is no official 

diagnosis, Jim Harbaugh said 
after the game that he believes it 
to be a “soft-tissue” injury.

There is still no timetable for 

Speight’s return, but O’Korn’s 
performance begged the question 
of whether or not a fresh 
quarterback competition would 
be opened.

Harbaugh did not answer the 

question directly, but he did give 
O’Korn the credit he was due.

“I thought John really played 

great,” Harbaugh said. “He was 
seeing things really good from the 
time he came into the ballgame. 
He ran the offense well, made 
the big plays. The throw he hit 
Gentry on the seam route down 
the middle was a big-time throw. 
And he had others. Really proud 
of him. Proud of the whole team.”

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Sophomore tight end Sean McKeon led all receivers with five catches for 82 yards against the Boilermakers.

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

Cerda keys Michigan to needed victory

Entering Sunday afternoon’s 

contest against Northwestern 
(0-4-0 Big Ten, 2-7-0 overall), 
the No. 22 Michigan men’s 
soccer team had been held 
scoreless with no shots on 
goal in its past two games. As 
a result, the Wolverines went 
0-2-1, halting the momentum 
they had gained early in the 
season.

Just 
under 
six 
minutes 

into the first half against the 
Wildcats, 
Michigan 
(2-1-1, 

5-2-2) had already registered 
one shot on goal, but was still 
unable to convert set pieces 
and scoring chances against 
a 
struggling 
Northwestern 

defense 
— 
it 
had 
been 

outscored, 10-1, in the first half 
and outshot, 98-74, this season.

In the 16th minute, yet 

another 
Wolverine 
chance 

went 
by 
the 
wayside, 
as 

sophomore 
midfielder 
Jack 

Hallahan’s through ball sailed 
past the outstretched foot of 
freshman 
midfielder 
Marc 

Ybarra and trickled out of 
bounds.

After groans from the crowd 

subsided, midfielder Ivo Cerda 
stared 
at 
his 
teammates, 

clapped his hands fervently 
and shouted, “Keep it going!”

The junior captain lived 

by his mantra, setting the 
example for his teammates to 
follow. Fifteen minutes later, 
Cerda’s header into the top-left 
corner of the goal off another 
Hallahan cross from the right 
flank put the Wolverines on 
the board and, ultimately, back 
in the win column with a 3-1 
victory.

Though the goal — Cerda’s 

second this season — helped 
the 
Santiago, 
Chile 
native 

further his poise the rest of the 
game, it was more about using 
the goal as inspiration for his 
teammates.

“Every player would like to 

score early,” Cerda said. “It’s 

easy then to play, but I always 
try to rub that confidence 
off and motivation onto my 
teammates, 
especially 
after 

scoring a goal.”

In 
his 
newly-established 

role as one of the team’s three 
captains, Cerda 
blends 
self-

confidence 
and work ethic 
to be a model 
for the players 
around him.

“(They 

should) try to 
stay 
focused, 

try 
to 
keep 

a 
high 
line,” 

Cerda 
said. 

“They all knew 
what this game meant to us. 
It was a turning point for 
our season, we hoped to get a 
win today so we can get back 
on a winning streak. There’s 
so much to say: they’re all 
focused, but I just try to keep 

them motivated.”

After a red card to junior 

forward 
Francis 
Atuahene 

left Michigan fielding just 10 
players for the end of the first 
and the entire second half, it 
was the workhorse Cerda who 

stepped up once 
again with a man 
down.

“He’s 
done 

really well,” said 
Michigan coach 
Chaka 
Daley. 

“He’s 
been 

asked to play in 
many 
different 

positions 
as 
a 

result of having 
a little bit of an 
injury to start 

the year and having to wean 
him into our team. He and 
(Ybarra) are probably the two 
fittest guys on the team. All of 
the hard work they do — and all 
the hard work the team does — 
is the difference.”

Added Cerda: “I felt that, 

at 
moments, 
you 
would 

imagine they had 10 men. We 
were looking good, keeping 
possession. … That’s because 
we trusted what we do, we don’t 
get scared by any pressure like 
this. We’re prepared to be a 
man down and we were lucky 
enough to get a 2-0 lead.”

After defenseman Jackson 

Ragen scored in the 55th 
minute to put the Wolverines 
up 2-0, it was Cerda who was 
first to sprint to the freshman 
with a big hug.

It was Cerda who, as the 

final whistle blew, breathed a 
sigh of relief, displayed a wide 
grin and threw his hands up 
in the air as if he was Rocky 
winning a 10-round fight.

And 
it 
was 
Cerda 
who 

motioned his teammates to run 
over to the Michigan Ultras, 
waved at fans to stay and not 
head for the exits, and started 
to sing “Hail to the Victors.”

CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily

Junior midfielder Ivo Cerda helped lead the Wolverines to victory despite losing Francis Atuahene in the first half.

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

I felt that, at 

moments, you 

would imagine 

they had 10 men.

‘M’ tops Northwestern

Last year’s match between 

Michigan and Northwestern 
epitomized 
the 
Wolverines’ 

2016 season.

The Michigan men’s soccer 

team outshot the Wildcats 23-13 
but fell in a double-overtime 
heartbreaker – a capsule of 
what was frequently described 
by coach Chaka Daley as “balls 
not bouncing the right way.”

But on Sunday at U-M Soccer 

Stadium, things broke more 
in No. 22 Michigan’s favor – 
as they have for much of this 
season. The Wolverines (2-1-
1 Big Ten, 5-2-2 overall) beat 
Northwestern (0-4-0, 2-7-0) 3-1 
to exceed their win total from 
last year.

“It means a lot, it’s definitely 

a special season for us,” said 
junior midfielder Ivo Cerda. 
“We don’t like to talk a lot about 
last year, but it’s definitely 
important to get back in the 
winning race. We come from 
two really tough losses, but I 
think this team has a lot in store 
and it’s important for us to get a 
win today.”

After an uneventful start 

to the match, the Wolverines 
broke through in the 31st 
minute. 
Sophomore 
forward 

Jack Hallahan sent a soaring 
free kick into the box that met 
the head of Cerda, deflecting 
into the top left corner past the 
goalkeeper’s reach.

But almost as quickly as the 

score came, Michigan would 
lose a man for the rest of the 
afternoon.

Just seven seconds after his 

substitution, 
junior 
forward 

Francis Atuahene received a 
red card after he got too much 
of a Northwestern player on a 
challenge.

It was a tough break for the 

Wolverines’ 2016 leading scorer, 
who has battled injuries and 
found the back of the net only 

once in the young season.

Michigan would add to its 

lead off another set piece to 
open the second half – this time 
off a corner kick from junior 
defender 
Marcello 
Borges 

that met the head of freshman 
midfielder Jackson Regan for 
his first career goal.

As displayed by both of those 

conversions, Daley sees these 
set pieces as an asset.

“It’s something you obviously 

want to get sharper with,” 
Daley said. “When you look at 
the run of the game, most games 
concede within the 18-yard box 
or set plays. Certainly, to put 
yourself in a position where 
we’re competitive I think is 
important.”

A 10-man formation wouldn’t 

hurt the Wolverines until the 
65th minute, when a free-
running Sean Lynch connected 
from the right flank to cut the 
lead in half.

Northwestern 
continued 

to pressure in an attempt to 
equalize, sending four shots 
on goal in the final 15 minutes. 
Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew 
Verdi, however, was aggressive 
in knocking away attempts near 
his net. 

The 
Wildcats 
nearly 

equalized off a free kick via a 
yellow card in the 90th minute 
– Michigan’s fifth of the day 
– but the Wolverines would 
instead seal the victory thanks 
to Jack Hallahan’s open-net 
conversion.

“If we can control our own 

destiny and stay within the 
top half of our league – this 
win was huge for that,” Daley 
said. “To be down a player and 
have to grind it out for 60-70 
minutes is phenomenal. I’m so 
proud of our guys and what they 
accomplished.”

Northwestern 
outshot 

Michigan, but balls bounced the 
Wolverines’ way.

What a difference a year 

makes.

MEN’S SOCCER

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer

